Sat 2nd & Mon 4th September Fixtures

[kieran_vale]

I’m out but is it a Blackpool performance type?

Sounds like started well but hopefully this is another decent second half performance, think all our goals in the league have come after half time haven’t they?

Somewhat though we were a fair bit crisper with the ball ourselves then. Oxford are a different level to Blackpool though. This game it feels more a case of Brannigan and McGuane especially running things.

 

[stevowanderer]

Derby gk just saved the ball with his hands outside the box and been sent off.

 

[kieran_vale]

Oxford down to ten men. Mark Harris involved in an off the ball incident with not very surprisingly Nathan Smith.

 

[Laker]

I’m watching the highlights for injury time at the Kassam tonight…. Sounds like carnage.

 

[Floreat Salopia]

Shambolic performance once again away from home. It’s a bit worrying how terrible we are away from home now. Taylor needs to start giving out a few bollockings in that dressing room now.

Sidenote:- The Carlisle commentators are the worst I’ve ever heard, pair of condescending, biased twats.

 

[valefan16]

Get in!!!!!!!!!

 

[denzel ecfc]

Top of the league! Who needs strikers??

 

[BRFC_Gas]

Does anyone in this league actually play football anymore?

 

[kieran_vale]

That was utterly bizarre but brilliant result against a team I think will be right up there. All about defensive resolve but when Alfie Devine came on he just completely swung it in our favour.

 

[valefan16]

That was utterly bizarre but brilliant result against a team I think will be right up there. All about defensive resolve but when Alfie Devine came on he just completely swung it in our favour.

And Smudge yet again claims another victim!

 

[Moomin]

We’re going to win the league with no strikers

 

[stevowanderer]

I’m sure I saw Vale fans on Twitter etc calling for the manager’s head after opening day. They’re flying now. Crazy game.

Derby a shadow of the team they were at times last season. We should have been out of sight.

 

[Guernica]

Frustrating to concede ANOTHER last minute goal, we really need to work on that but it has been a really good week and start so far.

 

[kieran_vale]

And Smudge yet again claims another victim!

Yep, in all honesty it’s harsh on Oxford as they didn’t deserve to lose that but fair play this team has shown some mental resolve after the opening day when people were laughing at them.

It is weird looking at the table as it stands right now and in fourth on negative GD.

 

[Moomin]

Decent win for us, Trevitt is some talent. Another clean sheet too. Sounded like we had plenty of chances and I’m sure once Muskwe gets up to speed we’ll have a good outlet.

 

[Luke Imp]

Frustrating to concede ANOTHER last minute goal, we really need to work on that but it has been a really good week and start so far.

Four points already!

So frustrating but if you'd offered me a point when the team sheets came out, I'd have taken it so a draw away from home with no strikers in the squad and missing our captain isn't a bad result in isolation. We were only ever going to score one at the very best.

 

[Guernica]

Four points already!

So frustrating but if you'd offered me a point when the team sheets came out, I'd have taken it so a draw away from home with no strikers in the squad and missing our captain isn't a bad result in isolation. We were only ever going to score one at the very best.

100% no O'Connor, House or Walker. I know House hasn't scored yet this season but he's so important to the way we play. Compared to the 6-3 win last season at Rovers, I am so much more confident with this team. Really looking forward to seeing the group develop.

 

[91SPP]

A Paul Warne masterclass today.. sadly. No idea why he is so adverse to possession football but he’s doing himself no favours among Derby fans. He’s fast becoming one of the most hated managers in modern history.

 

[valefan16]

Yep, in all honesty it’s harsh on Oxford as they didn’t deserve to lose that but fair play this team has shown some mental resolve after the opening day when people were laughing at them.

It is weird looking at the table as it stands right now and in fourth on negative GD.

No but that’s what they call a good away performance I guess, dig in and take the chances when they come. It’s a huge result that especially as we’ve only over won once in Oxford when JFK was president!

This teams mental resolve is immense.

 

[GeneralLee]

That was utterly bizarre but brilliant result against a team I think will be right up there. All about defensive resolve but when Alfie Devine came on he just completely swung it in our favour.

In all fairness, Alfie Devine can hardly claim having had much of anything to do with changing anything!

Nathan Smith, yes. Alfie Devine, no.

A bonkers game. Played 10 times over you’d be lucky to have scored again let alone win. Vale must be thinking all their Christmases have come at once.

Compete and utter madness. VERY entertaining for the neutral, mind.

 

[EricSabin]

20 shots to Wycombe’s 6, 70% of the ball. Lost 1-0, fucking frustrating.

Lack of cutting edge is going to cost us all season sadly. Gave Wycombe a shite early goal with a keeping howler and they did their Wycombe stuff of sitting back and inviting us on to have a go. Missed some huge chances today.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

20 shots to Wycombe’s 6, 70% of the ball. Lost 1-0, fucking frustrating.

Lack of cutting edge is going to cost us all season sadly. Gave Wycombe a shite early goal with a keeping howler and they did their Wycombe stuff of sitting back and inviting us on to have a go. Missed some huge chances today.

Pretty much the same as our game with them. Spoiler of a team like many ive seen so far (and still failed to beat )

 

[hellogregory]

Massive win. Finally.

Really wasn’t much different to our other games in terms of performance, just we managed to get the break with the 1st goal and didn’t make any mistakes at the back.

I feel we should be a lot more threatening with JJ Kayode starting games.

 

[The Terminator]

I would expect us to be unchanged from last Saturday.

Stevenage are the complete opposite to what we are, no doubt we will boss possession and they will try and hit us on the break and with set plays. Piergianni always causes problems against us no matters who he's played for.

We're not the biggest of sides physically which is a weakness of ours despite how good we can be in possession.

And that is how it went, beaten by a side physically better than us. We gave Stevenage too many set plays early on and they scored two of them, we've been poor at defending set plays since pre season.

Two big moments in the game for us - Ruel Sotiriou has to score his 1v1 when clean though to give us a leg up in the game and the second was being denied a penalty at 1-0 down when Ed Turns got hacked down from behind when challenging for a long throw, anywhere else on the field its a free kick.

Second half the game was expertly slowed down and we offered very little, had a few moments in good positions but did little with it. Third goal from Freeman is well taken and you have to take it on the chin, generally we was poor all round today and thats the first time thats happened under Wellens.

The Steves could do well this season if injuries and bans are kind to them, Evans has all of them on board with what he wants there.

 

[shoddycollins]

Massive win. Finally.

Really wasn’t much different to our other games in terms of performance, just we managed to get the break with the 1st goal and didn’t make any mistakes at the back.

I feel we should be a lot more threatening with JJ Kayode starting games.

Think Ablade made a shout to start the next game, though he might be seen as more of a supersub. Caused them all kinds of problems when he came on.

 

[valefan16]

In all fairness, Alfie Devine can hardly claim having had much of anything to do with changing anything!

Nathan Smith, yes. Alfie Devine, no.

A bonkers game. Played 10 times over you’d be lucky to have scored again let alone win. Vale must be thinking all their Christmases have come at once.

Compete and utter madness. VERY entertaining for the neutral, mind.

Harris has been very silly there, everyone knows and he should have known that Smudge is going to wind you up for a reaction, get lamped and smile through the gap in his front teeth as your trudging off for an early bath. About six or seven in 2 seasons he’s done now.

Glad for Devine, bonkers to have that kind of quality on the bench and credit to the recruitment team.

The LWB still is a worry though having to play a kid there who is a forward when Grant is out.

Decent result we’ve been massively due some luck at that place!

 

[Soz]

In all fairness, Alfie Devine can hardly claim having had much of anything to do with changing anything!

Nathan Smith, yes. Alfie Devine, no.

A bonkers game. Played 10 times over you’d be lucky to have scored again let alone win. Vale must be thinking all their Christmases have come at once.

Compete and utter madness. VERY entertaining for the neutral, mind.

lets calm down, you passed well but often crossed it to no one. we should have really scored in the first few minutes after the corner and you did have to bring a vale player down when 8 yards out to prevent the shot in injury time.

oxford the better side in general play but it wasnt the alamo. we did what weve done a few times already since barnsley, sit in and capitalise on mistakes. not convincing but it has been effective so far.

oxford were impressive tgough but for the reds and the penalty

 

[hellogregory]

Think Ablade made a shout to start the next game, though he might be seen as more of a supersub. Caused them all kinds of problems when he came on.

He ran them ragged today but against tiring legs. But will he do that from the start against fresh players?

I’d start JJ and Maguire, then bring Ablade and Garner on later when hopefully the opponents are shattered.

 

[GeneralLee]

lets calm down, you passed well but often crossed it to no one. we should have really scored in the first few minutes after the corner and you did have to bring a vale player down when 8 yards out to prevent the shot in injury time.

oxford the better side in general play but it wasnt the alamo. we did what weve done a few times already since barnsley, sit in and capitalise on mistakes. not convincing but it has been effective so far.

oxford were impressive tgough but for the reds and the penalty

We haven’t clicked yet. Our offensive play needs some tinkering to really threaten consistently and we don’t get enough shots off given the dangerous positions the side takes up. I’m also not convinced the formation the side plays right now will be the one to finish the season. So there’s still improvement to be made.

From the standpoint of possession, the midfield battle was largely non-existent, particularly first half. I thought Marcus McGuane and Cam Brannagan were unthreatened throughout.

Vale were solid-ish defensively and played as you might expect for an away performance. But let’s be honest, they didn’t threaten in the slightest until the sending off (which apparently was for a stamp rather than an elbow which seems odd!). I do agree if he has reacted it’s incredibly daft. Why he hasn’t just walked off I have no idea.

I’m in Ireland this week so had to watch on iFollow. The free kick for the goal I’ve not seen back but it felt like an odd decision at the time. I think OUFC have a right to feel aggrieved on that which has turned the game on it’s head.

Subsequent to the goal, the game management was frankly atrocious. No other word than ‘bonkers’ can describe the outcome.

 

[Brox]

Good win today, deserved too.

We had an early scare when Sotiriou was played through by Forde, the entire defence seemed to be drawn to the ball and Sotiriou was in one on one, he beat Taye but was denied by the crossbar.

After that we grew into the game, no real clear cut openings until the goal. Wide set piece played in low and McNeill guided it home on his debut. Orient probably should have had a penalty when Sweeney cleaned out the Orient attacker in the box.

For the rest of the half we created a couple of half chances before we doubled our lead from a corner just before the break. Piergianni won the first ball and Sweeney was able to nip in ahead of the keeper to make it 2-0.

Second half we largely managed pretty comfortably, we added a third 10/15 minutes from the end, a long ball seemed to cause the Orient defence issues before the loose ball was half volleyed home by Freeman, in off the bar, to wrap the afternoon up nicely.